The Reds keeper is preparing for spot kicks if Wednesday’s Europa League final with Seville goes all the way.

And he remembers watching former Kop keeper Dudek pull off some big saves when Liverpool lifted the European Cup in 2005 after beating AC Milan on penalties.

But the Belgium No1 would prefer someone else to be the hero is Basel as long as the Reds lift their ninth European trophy.

He said: “Dudek was one of my heroes when I was younger because of what he did in that Champions League final.

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“One thing I'd like to make clear is that I don't want to be a hero in the final, I don't think it's important for any individual to do that.

“Of course people will decide games like any other but what is most important to me is that we win the final. It doesn't matter in what kind of way.

“Being the hero doesn't make any difference to me.

“It can go to extra time and penalties and then of course I would get the chance to help the team and be decisive, but hopefully we can win it inside 90 minutes.”

Mignolet will take some inspiration from Polish shot stopper Dudek though as he remembers watching him become a hero in the 2005 final.

“One of our rituals as a family in Belgium was to get together to watch the Champions League final,” he said.

Liverpool head into Wednesday’s final as a club revitalised after seven months under Jurgen Klopp, who replaced Brendan Rodgers in the Anfield dugout back in October.

Back then the Europa League was a competition that was in the way of their Champions League ambitions, but now it is the gateway to get back among Europe’s elite.

And Mignolet described how a team meeting with Klopp soon after his appointment changed the feeling at the club.

He said: “The manager has given us belief again, he has changed the mentality of the players.

“I remember the first day he walked in. We had a meeting with the players and he explained some things as the manager does at the beginning, and then he explained about what he wants from the team and the club.

“Then he invited all the staff at the training ground to come into the meeting room to say: “Look, this is everybody who works for you guys, who also works for the team”, to show what we have to do as players.

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HERO: Dudek saved Liverpool in their 2005 penalty shootout

“Now you can see the connection with the fans in the stadium, that connection with the club”

Simon Mignolet

“What he wanted to say was we were a big family – and he wanted to change the mentality of the players.

“He was saying everybody – the whole staff at the football club, not just the players – were working for the club and the team, and you have to give everything for that family.

“Now you can see the connection with the fans in the stadium, that connection with the club.

“That is probably what he wanted to achieve, even at the beginning. It is developing day by day, game by game and it is getting stronger and stronger.”

Mignolet knows victory on Wednesday night and Liverpool’s season looks a lot better after a disappointing domestic campaign in which they also lost the League Cup final to Manchester City.

He added: “This final will be the biggest game I have played in my career.

“We know we can save our season by winning this trophy, especially as we would qualify for the Champions League.

“Liverpool has a history of winning trophies both domestically and in Europe.

“We went to the final of the League Cup this season and lost in the cruellest way but now we have a great chance to win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League, which would be a massive boost for the club and for the young players in the squad.”